Voluntary Stuttering in Real Settings
Pseudo-stuttering hierarchy for desensitization, moving from the therapy room outward.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Take the ratings and the prediction card seriously — they are the mechanism. A student who predicts a catastrophe, produces a voluntary stutter, and finds that nobody reacted has run an experiment on their own beliefs, and the written prediction is what makes the result undeniable. Work up the hierarchy in order; the phone call is the hardest for most students. Twenty minutes plus a real attempt between sessions.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAsk the question or set the task, then give the student time to answer or try it.Log as correct
- Open promptSay 'Tell me more about that' or 'What happened next?'Log as cued
- ChoicesOffer two ways it might have felt or gone, and let the student pick or correct you.Log as cued
- ModelShare your own example first, or do the task yourself before the student does.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use a feelings scale or picture choices, and start with the easiest situation.
Plan one real situation this week to try it in, and talk it through next session.
Matching IEP goal
Given discussion prompts and speaking tasks, Student will describe their thoughts or feelings about a speaking situation and name one helpful strategy in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight pseudo-stuttering tasks that move outward from the therapy room: pseudo-stutter once while ordering food and note what actually happened; twice while answering a question in class; use an easy repetition on purpose with a friend, what did they do; pseudo-stutter on a phone call to a store; rate your anxiety before and after each, one to ten; what did you predict would happen, versus what actually happened.
What to listen for
Watch the gap between predicted and actual reactions. It is almost always large, and it is the single most therapeutic finding available in fluency work. Notice which type the student prefers — a repetition or a prolongation — since the easier one is the one they will use, and knowing that shapes the rest of the plan.
Carrying it home
Families can help by being told about the exercise in advance. A voluntary stutter met with alarm at home undoes the point of it, and a family who knows can simply let it pass.
What's in this activity
- Pseudo-stutter once while ordering food. Note what actually happened.
- Pseudo-stutter twice while answering a question in class.
- Use an easy repetition on purpose with a friend. What did they do?
- Pseudo-stutter on a phone call to a store.
- Do three voluntary stutters in the therapy room, then one in the hallway.
- Rate your anxiety before and after each voluntary stutter, 1 to 10.
- Which was easier -- a repetition or a prolongation? Why?
- What did you predict would happen, versus what actually happened?
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth grade, where students can plan, execute and reflect on a real-world task.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight tasks are free to use with no account.
- Isn't this asking a student to do the thing they fear?
- Deliberately, and in a controlled way. The point is that a stutter produced on purpose is under the student's control, and discovering that listeners barely react is what reduces the fear.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.